FGCU women's soccer beats UNF to take ASUN first place, then sparks fly
· Yahoo Sports
The Eagles came out on top in a fiery ASUN conference matchup on Thursday night that nearly boiled over.
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The FGCU women's soccer team (6-1-5) held on late to earn a 2-1 victory over North Florida at Pickering Field. The Eagles made it 10 matches in a row without a loss with this win and improve to a 3-0-2 conference record, moving into first place in the ASUN standings.
"We have been tying a lot and with these two wins (back-to-back), it shows just how successful we are," junior midfielder Kate Friday said. "We were just on the verge every single game of winning and this win proves that we can finish them out. We had a 24-7 shot (advantage)... this is just the beginning of our success."
The Eagles struck early in each half, scoring just over a minute into the match. Junior midfielder Taylor Latini got the final touch on a loose ball inside the 6-yard box off a long free kick, tapping it into the back of the net from close range.
"I just ran up after it, usually they want us to do second runs and stuff and I saw my moment. I went over the ball and I hit it lightly instead of hitting it over the net," Latini said. "I was very excited being in the right place (at the) right time."
The Eagles had success in creating openings throughout the first half, but they couldn't produce anything until the second half. Barely two minutes after the restart, Friday put sophomore forward Keira Morgan through on goal inside the box and Morgan squared the ball to an open Kaitlin Gabelman. The freshman forward knocked in the open-net goal, doubling the host's advantage.
"A big thing for us, something our coaching staff called 'The Big Five' and that means the first five minutes of a half and the last five minutes," Friday said. "A lot of our goals have been scored (in those stretches)... that's something that we aim for is to be as resilient as we can for the first five minutes and defend as well as we can the last five."
The Ospreys managed to cut the deficit in half in the 62nd minute when senior defender Zoe Looker scored her first goal of the season. But outside of the lone goal, UNF struggled to create many more opportunities and the Eagles ultimately held on to a vital victory.
"That's kind of like a playoff atmosphere. (UNF was) very good and I thought our guys really played well... got a little testy at the end, but I thought our guys held their composure," FGCU women's soccer coach Jim Blankenship said.
Tensions boiled over after the game when UNF goalkeeper Sofia Miliancano got into a physical altercation with FGCU players and appeared to throw a punch at Morgan. Miliancano was deemed a red card for her actions and will miss the Ospreys next match against Stetson on Oct. 11.
"You got to be disciplined, you got to be disciplined," Blankenship said. "You can't lose your composure, especially after a game."
Next Up
The Eagles will host Jacksonville in their next match on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. at Pickering Field, one of five ASUN matches that remain on FGCU's schedule, including a visit UNF on Oct. 25.
"Keep the momentum going and the energy," Friday said. "What happens towards the end of the season is teams start to get tired, but with us, our energy on and off the field needs to stay high. We need to keep pushing forward, keep on thinking we're going to win these games − not tie, not lose, we're going to win. That takes everyone on the team, that comes from our press, our energy on the field. It also just comes from voicing and talking to each other and having our amazing captains lead our team."
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: FGCU women's soccer beats UNF to take ASUN first place, then sparks fly